It has been a very good start to 2014 for our Investments Portfolio, so much so that a couple of our picks now have a STR (Smart Tech Rating) below the cut off point for inclusion in our portfolio (i.e., at least 50% above the average STR for our coverage universe). Therefore, as of today we are closing our positions in Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate Technology (STX). This is primarily due to price appreciation and does not reflect under-performance by either company so if you choose to hold on to them then we suggest we place a stop loss order beneath them to protect your gains as indicated in our table.

You may recall we wrote about both of these companies in our very first issue of Smart Tech Investor last December, and both of them have lived up to our expectations. On that date WDC was priced at $80 and is now at $100, while STX was priced at $50 and is now at $60. We will gladly lock in a nine-month gain of 25% and 20% respectively, and find other stocks that have a higher STR score which we will discuss in this Monday’s addition of Smart Tech 50 Weekly Movers. Stay tuned!